When Jacky Nkubito moved from Rwanda to York City six years ago, she found that few people knew her native French. She pushed herself to improve her English, but still felt lonely.

But once she discovered a fluent French speaker, Craig Wolf, at the city's YMCA, she connected with other staff members there and soon had a group of supporters.

"Anytime I have a problem, one of them came and helped me," Nkubito said.

Representatives from area nonprofit organizations spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday talking about how they could connect with people like Nkubito, who were born outside the U.S.

The goal is outreach to "newcomers," a group that includes legal and illegal immigrants, refugees, and even temporary visitors in the area for work or school.

Changing demographics are making that outreach more important for nonprofits all over the country. Immigrants are spreading out beyond traditional newcomer communities in New York, California and Texas, said speaker Antonio Merino, a specialist with the national YMCA's international group.

About 35 people attended the conference at Penn State York. Many were from York-area nonprofits and YMCA branches from across the state and New Jersey, though some were newcomers who shared what it was like to be strangers moving into the community.

Though Nkubito did not speak at the meeting, she listened in on the discussion and said she might volunteer with the YMCA. Though she moved to Harrisburg several years go, she said she

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could ease the transition for people who are just moving to York.

"I think if I went through what they went through, I could help them ... kind of sharing experiences," Nkubito said.

The YMCA and other nonprofits want to help people develop those useful connections, said Wolf, the YMCA's director of community development. But much of that work has been informal so far.

Gathering more information on who can provide language assistance or other help could make outreach easier, Wolf said.

Though most people the YMCA serves can speak English, Spanish or French, there are exceptions, including Sri Lankan families currently renting apartments from the YMCA, Wolf said. The families sometimes speak through a previous tenant who is also from Sri Lanka.

Organizations could provide more programs relevant to newcomers, many of whom have no credit history and do not necessarily know where to find language classes or other services, Wolf said. A new partnership between organizations could help them coordinate those services.

But the same issues that make the services important to newcomers could also make it harder for the YMCA and other organizations to reach them, Wolf said.

"They don't know what a YMCA is, or any other organization for that matter," Wolf said.